He pulls me to my feet and I collapse against him, grabbing his chest for balance. I dig my fingernails through his shirt and feel how solid his pectoral muscles are, huge and throbbing and powerful.
Then his lips are on mine, our tongues warring, the whole world sinking away except for the sensation of our mouths fused together. He growls through the kiss as the heat shimmers across my cheeks and down my neck and over my breasts, through my belly and into my sex, buzzing, humming, claiming.
I gasp and move my hands up, over his muscled back, through his silver peppered hair.
“I need you,” he growls, keeping his lips close to mine when the kiss naturally breaks off.
“I need you too,” I gasp. “But I want to let my food go down.”
He knows it’s an excuse, a half-truth – not quite a lie – but he accepts it and takes a step back.
“It’s a shame you don’t have your camera,” he says as he leads me off the platform, his hand squeezing mine tightly, sending me signals of his own with his closeness.
“It’s okay. I don’t have to capture every moment. Some things should just be lived, you know?”
“I understand that well. I don’t want to share this moment with anybody except for you. But I’m not a super-talented photographer. You are.”
I giggle, delight whelming inside of me, as we walk away from the cabin and toward the trees. The light is hazy, but the pines let in enough moonlight and starlight so we can see where we’re going… or, at least, so my sharp-eyed SEAL can see where we’re going.
I hold him, captivated by trust.
I’d let this man lead me anywhere.
“I don’t know about that,” I say.
“I do,” he growls. “You’re going to be a success, Tessa. And I’ll support you every step of the way. If you ever need help with equipment, software, anything… just let me know.”
“You’d do that?” I say, leaves crunching beneath our feet, a soft wind purring over my skin and enhancing the feeling of pleasure ignited by his proximity.
“Of course,” he growls. “There’s no question about it. You deserve to be able to fully express your talent. The world deserves it.”
“I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable taking your money, though,” I murmur.
He stops and turns to me, grabbing my hips and pulling me tight next to him. His manhood pressed against my belly, engorged and enflamed and burning with his seed, my womb singing an answering song in needy tones.
“It’s not just my money. We’re a partnership now. I own you. But you own me too. Don’t let silly thoughts like that hold you back.”
“Is your business really going that well?” I ask.
He chuckles. “I haven’t started my management business yet. But I’ve been clever with my money over the years. Military living is cheap if you do it right. I’ve been buying real estate for years. I’ve got my SEAL pension. And I’m going to work my ass off to transfer my SEAL techniques to the business world.”
“You sound confident,” I mutter.
“I am,” he growls. “A man like me – a man who’s seen what I’ve seen and live what I’ve lived – has to be. So say yes, Tessa.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Do you think I want you to work jobs you hate for the rest of your life?” he growls. “I hate the idea of you not having a phone that works, a car that works. You shouldn’t have to concern yourself with things like that when you’ve got so much talent just waiting to burst into the world.”
His passion ignites an answering flare inside of me, impossible to refute or ignore. It’s like he’s reached into my mind and plucked all my deepest desires, putting them into words in a way I’d never dare to.
I don’t deserve to think like that, I’d tell myself…
I don’t deserve to wish for something more when so many people would kill for the little I already have.
But as Trent stares at me, I begin to feel the truth of his words rising inside of me, until I’m overflowing with certainty.
Yes, he’s right. Maybe I do deserve this.
“Okay,” I say. “But only if you’re sure…”
“Sure?” He slides his hands around my hips and lower, to my ass, palming big greedy handfuls that make my skin burn. “The only thing I’m more sure of is how perfect this ass is. Fucking hell, move against my hands, push it out.”
“Like this?” I moan, no longer caring that we’re standing in a forest, forgetting about my nerves in the onrushing crazy goodness of this moment.
I push my ass against his hands and he groans throatily, huskily.
“I could spend the rest of my life palming and playing with these big juicy ass cheeks and die a happy man. You have no idea what you to do me.”